Most bands try to capture their live show on CD in the studio. Others make a really complicated and involved CD then do their best to replicate it the best they can.

 With Fredericton, New Brunswick’s Ross Neilsen and the Sufferin’ Bastards, what you hear is what you get.

You can only get this live CD at one of Ross Neilsen and the Sufferin”’ bastards’  shows, so if you want to remember what you saw and heard this is what you need.

 In their latest live, electrified CD,  “What You Need Volume 2,” what you get is most of their last studio CD, Redemption” with  extended jams, crowd noise and a couple tracks from a few years back. Most of the CD comes from a Canada Day Show at Edmonton’s renown Blues on Whyte club.

 The extended jams are the fun part of the Ross Neilsen experience and the live CD, especially on an 11 plus minute version of “Back For More,” from 2009’s “Early Grave’ CD which throws in a  few bars of  several slide powered blues classics like “Who Do you Love,” and more prominently “Shake Your Moneymaker” and some  entertaining rantings and even a touch of gospel.
 So it pretty accurately captures the live experience.

 The recording is crisp— you can hear every scorching note being played and every word sung.

 Some of the songs are the length of the studio versions, but most are extended jams, like one of my favourites from Redemption — “Hot Little Pistol.”

The tortured ballad “She Ain’t You” from Redemption drags on for 10 minutes, but there is some wild guitar soloing , so the time just flies by.
 They end on a high note “Walk In The Sun” from “Early Grave” before calling it a night. Overall,  “What You Need 2” is just what any guitar loving blues fan needs if they missed the live experience of Ross Neilsen and the Sufferin’ Bastards.

CD: What You Need Vol 2
Band: Ross Neilsen and the Sufferin’ Bastards
Genre: blues rock
 Record label: indie

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